Whaler’s Bay, Deception Island
The term “industrial” is seldom used in association with Antarctica, but it is the perfect adjective to describe a little cove inside Deception Island. Tucked inside the protective walls of an active volcano, Whaler’s Bay has been home to industry since the earliest human visitors reached Antarctica in the 1820s.
Sealers were the first to make use of this fair harbour and their frequent visits made Deception Island the first part of Antarctica to be accurately mapped. Eighty years later the whaling industry set up shop on the black volcanic sands of this bay, and a permanent community flourished here until 1931. The waters of the cove would frequently run red with the blood of their catch, and the sea floor littered with whale bones.
However, industrial advances in the form of factory ships made shore-stations obsolete, and Whaler’s Bay lay vacant for just over a decade before the next “industry” arrived: science. The forerunner to the British Antarctic Survey established a base here in 1944, erecting some of their own buildings and occupying those left behind by the whalers. The scientists stayed until 1969, when the volcano erupted and destroyed much of the base.
Today, it is the tourist industry’s turn to make use of the wonders of Whaler’s Bay and each year over 10,000 visitors stroll its forlorn shores, appreciating the evidence of the earlier industries that also found the volcano hard to resist.
